System and method of storing and communicating the location of a pin on a golf course

ABSTRACT

A system and method for storing and communicating the location of the pin on one or more greens on a golf course. The location of the golf pin is entered into a system and is uploaded for incorporation in a course map depicting the golf course being played by the golfer. The pin location information is used to measure distance from the location aware device to the pin location.

PRIORITY CLAIMS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/357,426, filed on May 9, 2014, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for storing andcommunicating the location of the pin on one or more greens on a golfcourse. The golf pin location is uploaded for incorporation in a coursemap depicting the golf course, and used to measure a distance from thelocation aware device to the pin location.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

In the game of golf, it is desirable for a player to have accuratedistance measurements corresponding to a golf hole before taking a shot.For example, during the course of playing a game of golf, the golfermust often determine the distance between the golf ball and variousother locations on the golf holes such as hazards, end of the fairway,bunkers, front, middle, back of the green. Another important distance toknow is the distance between the golf ball and the pin on the green.Knowing the distance that the ball must travel to the pin is one of themost important factors the golfer must consider for selection of theproper golf club.

Previously, it was necessary for a player to estimate the distance tothe pin on the green by using markings on the course and/or a yardagebook indicating distances between various points on the course to thegreen. However, the use of portable location aware electronic deviceshas become common in the game of golf to ascertain distances from aplayer's current position to the golf pin. These location aware devicesare typically in the form of a handheld computing device withgeolocation awareness, such as GPS devices, that may be capable ofdisplaying an outline of a golf hole and distances from the locationaware device to the golf pin.

In the related art however, in order to determine the distance from alocation aware device to the pin on a green, it would be necessary touse surveying or other equipment capable of determining a geolocation,to be physically placed at the pin location to obtain the actual pinlocation coordinates. These pin coordinates would then have to beuploaded and stored and then provided to the user. A drawback withrelated art devices is that each time a pin location is moved on thegreen, it would be necessary for golf course personnel to physicallytake the survey or other geolocation determining equipment to the newpin location and repeat the steps of recording the position andtransmitting the information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above noted shortcomings in acquiring a pin location forpins on the golf course, the inventors have derived a system that allowsthe location of the golf pin or cup to be entered into a computer with ageo-referenced depiction of the green, typically by golf coursepersonnel. Additionally, the inventors have derived a system that allowsthe golfer to enter pin locations.

Allowing the pin location to be determined in this manner and thenprovided to the golfer for use during a round of golf is distinguishedfrom the related art methods in which surveying or other equipmentcapable of determining a geolocation is physically placed at the pinlocation and the actual location coordinates obtained and uploaded asdiscussed above.

Instead, in one or more examples of the present invention, the pinlocation is determined using an existing course map and a computer witha geo-referenced depiction of the green, or entered by the golfer, butin either case the pin location can be determined without placing at theactual pin location surveying or other equipment capable of determiningthe pin's geolocation.

An non-limiting example of the present invention includes a method ofstoring and communicating the location of a pin on a green on a golfcourse, the method including selecting on a display screen, one or moregreens of a plurality of greens of the golf course, for setting a pinposition on the green, setting a position of the pin on one or more ofthe plurality of greens, uploading the position of the pin to a centralinformation processing site and database, storing the position of thepin on each of the one or more greens, and downloading the pin positionsto a location aware device. The location aware device can thereafter,using methods known to those skilled in the art, determine the distancefrom the location aware device to the pin position.

As should be apparent, the invention can provide a number ofadvantageous features and benefits. It is to be understood that, inpracticing the invention, an embodiment can be constructed to includeone or more features or benefits of embodiments disclosed herein, butnot others. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the preferredembodiments discussed herein are provided as examples and are not to beconstrued as limiting, particularly since embodiments can be formed topractice the invention that do not include each of the features of thedisclosed examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of this disclosure and many of theattendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the samebecomes better understood by references to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer program application dashboardor initial screen for use in one or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a Pin Sheet screen according to an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates the edit screen to set or change zone locations inone or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates the edit screen displaying a pin view in an example;

FIG. 5 illustrates the edit screen displaying a zone view in an example;

FIG. 6 illustrates a modified zone view after dropping the zones totheir proper hypothetical location in an example;

FIG. 7 illustrates a print function for the PinPoint program in anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 shows a printed pin sheet showing zones;

FIG. 9 illustrates written pin sheets showing the pin on each greenlocated by the number of yards or paces from the front of the green andfrom one of the sides of the green in an example;

FIG. 10 illustrates a display of where a pin is located on a greenaccording to an example;

FIG. 11 illustrates a possible display in an example of the invention inwhich information is provided by the location aware device member;

FIG. 12 depicts an example of the invention in which a member enters thedata for a golf course;

FIG. 13 illustrates a display for a member so as to drag and drop zonenumbers to an appropriate location on the green screen display in one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 14 shows a result of dragging and dropping zone numbers on thegreen screen display shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration of alocation-aware device of one or more exemplary embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates a hardware diagram of a processing system embodyingaspects of one or more examples;

FIG. 17 illustrates a main menu appearing on the device screen accordingto an example;

FIG. 18 illustrates the selection by the user of using Pin locations;

FIG. 19 illustrates the selection of Zone locations;

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a screen that allows a user to selectan option to set the pin locations himself;

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a green in which the golfer can set acustom pin location as discussed with respect to FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 illustrates a display for the user to declare if he is finishedsetting pin locations as discussed with respect to the example of FIGS.20-21;

FIG. 23 illustrates a display for the user to input which hole of thegolf course the user wants to start on;

FIG. 24 illustrates a display of an entire hole chosen in the displayshown in FIG. 23 with respect to an embodiment;

FIG. 25 illustrates a green only view according to an embodiment;

FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary screen shown to the user with respectto one or more embodiments for beginning the round of golf;

FIG. 27 illustrates an option for the user to view the scoring for theround of golf as well as the option for the Pin Location setting to beon or off; and

FIG. 28 illustrates a display for the user to select a zone to use withrespect to exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Aspects of the present disclosure will now be described below withreference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout several views.

Typically, other prior art methods require surveying or other equipmentcapable of determining a geolocation to be physically placed at the pinlocation and the actual location coordinates obtained and uploaded asdiscussed above. However, with respect to one or more examples describedherein, the pin location is determined using references from existingcourse maps and a computer with a geo-referenced depiction of the green,or entered by the golfer. That is, in one or more examples, it is notnecessary to have surveying or other equipment capable of determining ageolocation at the pin location.

One or more exemplary embodiments relate to allowing the location of thegolf pin or cup to be entered by golf course personnel or golfer asdescribed below with respect to further examples. This feature is calledPinPoint. The golf pin location is uploaded for incorporation in adigitized, geo-referenced course map depicting the golf course, such asthose course maps offered by SkyGolf, for use with a location awaredevice, such as the SkyCaddie GPS based rangefinder, and using thatlocation information to measure distance from the location aware deviceto the pin location. It should be appreciated that while reference ismade to a SkyCaddie location aware device, embodiments of the inventionare equally applicable to other location aware devices.

Similarly, while reference is made to SkyGolf, embodiments of theinvention are equally applicable to any entity that maintains and makesavailable to users, though, for example, the internet, wirelesscommunications or other communications portals, a geo-referenced golfcourse map which is used, for example, to determine distances duringgolf play using a location aware device onto which the digital map hasbeen downloaded through any number of recognized embodiments.Additionally, while reference is made to locating the pin on each holeof a golf course, one or more systems and methods of the invention areuseful for locating the pin location on one or more holes and notnecessary all holes on the course. For example, on some days only one ortwo pins are moved so that only the locations of those pins that weremoved need to be updated.

The location aware device could be hand held or golf cart mounted forexample, and would include for example, a processor, memory, display anda communications interface to provide access to the internet. Anexemplary hardware configuration of a location-aware device is describedin reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an exemplaryconfiguration of a location-aware portable device 100 that is used by aplayer to obtain golf course related distance information. Thelocation-aware device 100 may be a handheld device having firmware andsoftware that allow control of the operation of the device 100. Thelocation-aware device may include multiple components that are managedby microcontroller 105 running software stored in a flash memory 115 orrandom-access memory 110, for example. The microcontroller 105 serves asan interface and controller for a plurality of hardware systems anddevice application systems of the location-aware device.

In an exemplary embodiment, the primary purpose of the portablelocation-aware device 100 is to provide a golfer with distanceinformation to various points on a green (such as the input pininformation discussed above), to various targets and hazards on the golfcourse. The distance information is provided to the user by referencingmapped data stored in the flash memory 110, for example, to real timeGlobal Positioning System (GPS) position data acquired by an onboard GPSreceiver 120. The microcontroller 105 processes the GPS data and derivescalculations to the mapped points and various areas on the course. Thisinformation is then displayed to the player through a graphical userinterface that includes, for example, a sunlight readable colorthin-film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) display 125having a light-emitting diode (LED) backlight 130. The LED backlight 130is controlled by a photosensor 135 that measures ambient light andadjusts the brightness of the backlight accordingly. The LCD 125 istransflective so the backlight brightness is reduced when the unit is insunlight and the brightness is increased when the unit is in low lightconditions. The microcontroller 105 also receives input from the playerby a keypad and/or joystick 140. The user input may correspond to acommand to move a cursor on the graphical user interface, a command toenter data, a command to select a particular course for display, etc.The location-aware device 100 may also include a touch screen 143 thatwould be used by the player to enter information and/or otherwisecontrol the location-aware device 100.

As noted above, the mapped course data may be stored in an onboard flashmemory 115, which can be updated via connection of a Universal SerialBus (USB) port 140, micro-Secure Digital (micro-SD) card 145, WiFi radio170 or other wireless communications device 175. An operating system ofthe microcontroller 105 and various applications executed by themicrocontroller 105 may also utilize the onboard RAM 110 for storage oftemporary data. An onboard accelerometer 150 determines an orientationof the unit and measures acceleration along a vector.

In one exemplary embodiment, the axis orientation and accelerationinformation is used by the microcontroller 105 to rotate the course datadisplayed via the graphical user interface to align with the player'sorientation on a particular hole, for example. The location-aware deviceis powered by a battery 115 that is managed by a charging circuit andpower management circuit 160 to provide power to the various componentsof the location-aware device. The location-aware device also includes aradio-frequency (RF) transceiver 165 that receives signals transmittedfrom tags, which may transmit a club tag ID, tag battery status andother sensor data if the tag is in an operational state attached to aclub.

FIG. 16 is a hardware diagram of an information processing and viewingdevice embodying aspects of this disclosure, including aspects involvinga computer, tablet, smart phone, and the like, utilized to input pinpositions, which can communicate with a network, mobile terminal orother processing device. The processes, algorithms and electronicallydriven systems described herein can be implemented via a discretecontrol device or computing system consistent with the structure shownin FIG. 16. Such a system is described herein as a processing system.FIG. 16 is also a hardware diagram of the central information processingsite and database, which, as one skilled in the art can appreciate, canbe any of a number of readily available computer servers.

As shown in FIG. 16, a processing system in accordance with thisdisclosure can be implemented using a microprocessor or its equivalent,such as a central processing unit (CPU) or at least one applicationspecific processor ASP (not shown). The microprocessor utilizes acomputer readable storage medium, such as a memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM,EEPROM, flash memory, static memory, DRAM, SDRAM, and theirequivalents), configured to control the microprocessor to perform and/orcontrol the processes and systems of this disclosure. Other storagemediums can be controlled via a controller, such as a disk controller,which can control a hard disk drive or optical disk drive.

The microprocessor or aspects thereof, in an alternate embodiment, caninclude or exclusively include a logic device for augmenting or fullyimplementing this disclosure. Such a logic device includes, but is notlimited to, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a generic-array of logic (GAL), andtheir equivalents. The microprocessor can be a separate device or asingle processing mechanism. Further, this disclosure can benefit fromparallel processing capabilities of a multi-cored CPU.

In another aspect, results of processing or the input of data inaccordance with this disclosure can be displayed via a displaycontroller to a monitor. The display controller would then preferablyinclude at least one graphic processing unit for improved computationalefficiency. Additionally, an I/O (input/output) interface is providedfor inputting data from a keyboard or a pointing device (not shown) forcontrolling parameters of the various processes and algorithms of thisdisclosure can be connected to the I/O interface to provide additionalfunctionality and configuration options, or control displaycharacteristics. Moreover, the monitor can be provided with atouch-sensitive interface to a command/instruction interface, and otherperipherals can be incorporated, including a scanner or a web cam whenimage-based data entry is used.

The above-noted components can be coupled to a network, as shown in FIG.16, such as the Internet or a local intranet, via a network interfacefor the transmission or reception of data, including controllableparameters. The network provides a communication path to the mobiledevice, which can be provided by way of packets of data. Additionally, acentral BUS is provided to connect the above hardware componentstogether and provides at least one path for digital communicationthere-between.

As discussed below with respect to one or more exemplary embodiments ofthe invention, using a golf course map that is geo-referenced, a greenon a golf course is graphed or displayed and the pin locationdetermined, utilizing one of several methods. Exemplary methods indetermining the pin location include zone mode, grid mode or pin sheetmode as set forth in greater detail below.

In usual practice, with the use of zones in zone mode, a golf coursesuperintendent or other golf course personnel divides the green on eachhole into a number of zones, generally either 3 or 4 zones, but anynumber of zones is within the spirit and scope of the present invention.These zones are varied by hole. For example, zone 1 on hole 1 may be inthe front portion of the green, while zone 1 on hole 2 may be in theback portion, etc. The pin on each hole is located each day in the samezone. For example, on Thursday the pins may be placed in zone 3, whileon Saturday the pins may be moved to zone 2. Moving the pin to variouslocations on the green is done to prevent wear in a particular area of agreen, as well as to vary the challenge of an approach into the greenfor those players playing the course multiple times over several days.Further, the purpose in placing zones with the same number in differentparts of different greens is to improve the golfer's experience so that,for instance, the pins are not all put on the front portion of the greenon one day and all on the back portion of the green on another day. Ineach round, the golfer will be playing to pins located in the front onsome greens, in the back of others, and one side or another on stillothers.

An exemplary method utilizing the zone mode, is initiated by enteringinto the course map, the locations of each zone on one or more of theholes for a particular golf course and uploading the locations to theserver, or central information processing site and database, housing thecourse map for download to location aware devices used by golfers, suchas, for example, uploading the locations to SkyGolf for download and useby golfers using a SkyCaddie device. The zones then become ageo-referenced feature of the map just like other features, such as, forexample, the location of a sand trap, a creek or the green itself.Advantageously, the zones only have to be entered into the course mapone time. Thereafter, the zones for the greens will thereafter beavailable to any user who downloads the course map onto their locationaware device. The actual incorporating of the pin location into thecourse map available for download to location aware devices can occur ateither the golf course information processing and viewing device or atthe central information processing site and database. In the lattercase, the pin location would be entered into the information processingand viewing device and uploaded to the central information processingsite and database for incorporation onto the course map. One reason forhaving the actual incorporation of the pin location into the course mapperformed at the central information processing site and database is toallow the course map supplier to maintain tighter control over thecourse map. In the former case, the information processing and viewingdevice would be given administrative access to the course map, allowingchanges to be made to the course map sufficient to allow the pinlocations to be incorporated into the course map and eventual downloadto location aware devices.

According to an aspect of the invention, once the zone enabled coursemap is downloaded onto the location aware device, before each round ofgolf, any user by way of a “setting” choice on the location aware devicefor example, enters the zone applicable that day. Distances from thelocation device, for example held in the golfer's hand, to that day'szone on the green can then be determined and displayed for viewing onthe location device for any of the golf holes played by the userthroughout the round of golf.

In a non-limiting example, in the zone mode, zones are entered into thecourse map by the golf course personnel using a PinPoint computerprogram for example. Further examples provide for golfers themselves toenter the zones into the course map, as described below. It should beappreciated that any authorized person with the appropriate computingdevices would be able to enter the zones. However the zones are entered,a computer program application, typically but not exclusively providedby the course map supplier, such as, for example SkyGolf, is utilized.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, once the PinPoint computer applicationis accessed, the process is initiated through an initial menu or“dashboard” screen, as depicted in FIG. 1. Once a user is logged in andthe dashboard page is displayed, the course superintendent for example,would click on the Pin Sheet tab. The Pin Sheet tab takes the coursesuperintendent to the pin sheet preview screen as shown in FIG. 2. Thispin sheet preview screen is capable of displaying each green. Forexample, instead of or in addition to numbers 1-18 representing the 18greens of the golf course, a further example provides for a depiction ofthe 18 greens to be shown. The greens that are displayed can include ageneral depiction of the green and an outline of the shape of the greenas viewed from above. In an alternate embodiment, a detailed depictionof the greens in the pin sheet preview screen can be provided showing,bunkers near the green, water hazards, out of bounds near the green,general slope of the green shown by visual indicators on the green,elevation change of the green, and the like. It should be appreciatedthat any information that could be useful to the user could be shownwith the green depiction. Once in edit mode as described below, thegreens displayed are geo-referenced to the course map so that selectinga location on the displayed green associates that location with the likelocation on the course map.

In one or more examples, to set or change zone locations, thesuperintendent would click on the Edit tab, taking the superintendent tothe edit screen as best shown in FIG. 3. The edit screen displays one ofthree views: grid mode shown in FIG. 3; pin mode shown in FIG. 4; orzone mode shown in FIG. 5. The particular mode to be displayed isselected using the Sheet Type drop down option, shown in this example onthe left side of the screen in FIGS. 3-5. The superintendent or otherauthorized user, would select the hole for which he desires to set thezones by clicking on the appropriate number on the right side of thescreen above the green depiction. As an example, in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5,hole 1 of the TPC at Sawgrass, Stadium course is selected. The greendepicted on the display screen in the three Figures is thegeo-referenced hole 1 green of the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium course fromthe SkyGolf course map. Because the green displayed is geo-referenced tothe course map, clicking on a point on the screen display willgeo-reference that point on the course map. In the FIG. 3 example, thegreen display can be overlaid with horizontal and vertical grid lines,each completed grid square representing 5 yards in width and 5 yards inheight, for example. However, any dimension of the grid size in yards ormeters is within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The girdlines can be turned on or off as desired using the grid option button onthe left side of the screen.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention with respect to using thezone mode shown in FIG. 5, the superintendent uses the Zone Count dropdown option on the screen to select the number of zones for thedisplayed green. In this example, four zones is selected. A numberappears on the screen for each zone selected. That is, in FIG. 5, thenumbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 randomly appear on the screen since four zones wasselected. The superintendent can then drag and drop each zone number onthe screen to the location on the green corresponding to that zonenumber. In this example, FIG. 6 shows what the Edit screen would looklike in a hypothetical situation after the user drags and drops thezones to their proper hypothetical location on the green. As compared toFIG. 5, the location of numbers 1-4 in FIG. 6 have changed location.

Due to the fact that the displayed depiction is geo-referenced to thecourse map, once the one or more zone numbers are dragged and dropped atits proper location, that zone is geo-referenced to the course maps.Once all the zones on the desired holes are selected, the superintendentthen uploads the information to the central information processing siteand database, such as the course map supplier's server, through, forexample, the internet, a wireless connection or other knowncommunications portal. As a result, the zone locations become a part ofeach course map and available for use in the normal manner with thelocation aware device onto which the course and pin locations have beendownloaded using the internet, wireless connection or othercommunication portal.

The pin locations program residing on the location aware device wouldinclude a settings option for each course in which the zones selectedfor play on the day of the golfer's round can be selected at thebeginning of the round. For instance, if on a particular day the pinsare placed in zone 3, before his round the golfer would adjust the “zonesetting” to zone 3. Thereafter, as the golfer plays his round, he canobtain distances to zone 3 on each hole, just as he would other coursefeatures on the course map.

In a non-limiting example, the PinPoint program could also provide aprint function, where the superintendent can print pin sheets for eachday, round, etc., as best shown in FIG. 7. The print screen can includea number of options on the right side, including whether to print a zonepin sheet, a grid pin sheet or a pin sheet showing paces from front andside, which is referred to as a pin sheet. FIG. 8 is a printed pin sheetshowing zones. There are numerous advantages to allowing pin sheets tobe thus printed. For instance, the course can immediately print a pinsheet when needed, and does not have to have a large numberprofessionally printed before use. Pin sheets can be changed daily orwith regularity and pin sheets can include rotating information and/oradvertising.

In one or more examples of the invention using Grid mode, the process isas set forth above with respect to zones, except instead of zonessupplied by the golf course, a grid system is used as best shown in FIG.3. The grid pattern is automatically overlaid on the green, creating anumber of squares over the green. The dimensions of the grid pattern canbe varied in distance. In an example, the grid pattern creates a square5 yards by 5 yards. However, any dimension of the grid size in yards ormeters is within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In use,the superintendent would simply click on the grid square thatapproximates the pin location. Similar to as discussed above withrespect to zone mode, in the present example of grid mode, since thescreen display of the green is geo-referenced to the course maps, oncethe location of the pin, i.e., the corresponding grid square, isselected, that location is automatically geo-referenced to the coursemaps. Once a pin location (i.e., the corresponding grid square) isselected for the desired holes, for example all or less than all of theholes, the superintendent uploads the information to the centralinformation processing site and database, or again the course mapsupplier's server, where it becomes a part of each course map andavailable for use with the location aware device onto which the courseand pin locations are downloaded and as described above for zone mode.

In one or more examples of the invention using pin mode, the process issimilar to that described above for zone mode and grid mode, except thatthe pin is located by reference to the number of yards or paces the pinis from the front of the green and the side of the green. In an example,the side of the green closest to the pin is used as the side for whichto display the number of paces, but any desirable side can be used. Infurther examples, other intersections of the green could also be used,such as the front portion of the green perpendicular to the pin locationrather than the geographic center front of the green. Additionally, morethan two distances could be used, such as, for example, yards or paceson, which could represent the geographic center, front, left and right.

The information discussed above for pin mode can be obtained and enteredin several ways. In one example, the golf course would already have inits possession or would create written pin sheets, such as that depictedin FIG. 9, in which the pin on each green is located by the number ofyards or paces from the front of the green and from one of the sides ofthe green, for example the closest side. On the Edit screen shown inFIG. 4, the superintendent would manually enter the distance informationin the Yards On, Yards Left and/or Yards Right boxes, as applicable, onthe left side of the screen under Options. The distance informationentered would be the distances matching the pre-printed written pinsheet. For example, FIG. 10 depicts the 3rd hole of the TPC at SawgrassStadium course in which the pin is located 18 yards on, 6 yards left and11 yards right. While FIG. 10 depicts the number of yards left and rightthe pin is located, in practice it is not necessary to include both.Either left or right distances or both left and right distances could beentered. Similar to the other exemplary modes, since the screen displayis geo-referenced to the course map, the entered information for eachpin on each hole would be automatically geo-referenced to course maps.Once the pin information is entered for all holes in which informationis desired to be entered, the superintendent would upload theinformation to the central information processing site and database,where it becomes a part of each course map and available for use withthe location aware device onto which the course and pin locations aredownloaded and as described above for zone mode and grid mode.

In a further example of the invention, another way this informationcould be entered is for the superintendent to simply drag and drop thepin on the green display on the edit screen, rather than manuallyentering the information in the Yards On, Yards Left and/or Yards Rightboxes under the Options section of the screen. As the pin is dragged onthe green display with the computer or device mouse, the numbers in theOption boxes are automatically moved accordingly. When all pininformation is entered, the information is uploaded to the centralinformation processing site and database similarly as above described.

In a further example of the invention, information can be enteredwithout reference to a pre-printed pin sheet. In that case, thesuperintendent would simply note the distance on, left and/or right thepin is located on each hole, and then enter the information by manuallyentering the location information in the boxes under the Options sectionof the Edit screen or dragging and dropping the pin icon on the Editscreen green display. When all pin information is entered, theinformation is uploaded to the central information processing site anddatabase for use with the location aware device onto which the courseand pin locations are downloaded as above described.

As discussed with respect to one or more embodiments above, if thegolfer is using pin locations provided through PinPoint, before playinghis round of golf, the golfer would download or update the course mapfor the golf course at which he intends to play. This could includeeither downloading the entire course map or downloading only the updateddata, such as the new pin locations. The downloading could be donebefore the golfer arrives at the course, such as through a WiFi or otherinternet connection at his home or office, or once he arrives at thecourse, such as through a WiFi or other internet connection at thecourse. The course map update would include the pin locations for theday which have previously been entered and uploaded to the centralinformation processing site and database as described above.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the golfer could enter the pinlocations himself, using a custom pin setting as described hereinafter.In a non-limiting example, once the course is updated on his locationaware device and the golfer is ready to play golf, the golfer turns onhis location aware device, and the main menu appears on the devicescreen, as shown in FIG. 17. After activating the Courses setting, thegolfer selects the golf course he wants to play. Once the golf course isselected, the Round Options menu is displayed as shown in FIG. 27, andthe golfer selects his round options, including for example whether hewants to use Pin Locations. If the golfer turns on Pin Locations, thegolfer is taken to the Pin Setup menu, shown in FIG. 18 for instance. Atthe Pin Setup menu, if the golfer wants to use pin locations providedthrough the central information processing site and database, the golferselects whether he wants to use Pin Mode or Zone (or Grid) Mode, asshown in FIGS. 18 and 19. FIGS. 18 and 19 show a course in which gridmode is not available and, therefore they do not depict a selection forgrid mode. If the course has grid mode available, an option for gridmode would also be included. If the golfer selects zone or grid mode,the device will toggle to the zone or grid selection screen, where thegolfer will select which zone or grid to use. FIG. 28 shows an examplewhere zone mode is used and zone 1 has been selected.

In a non-limiting example, if the golfer wants to set the pin locationshimself, he would select the New Custom Pins selection on the Pin Setupscreen, as shown in FIG. 20. If the golfer elects to set custom pinlocations, a display of each golf green would sequentially appear, wherethe golfer is able to select the pin location. FIG. 21 is an example ofa green in which the golfer can set a custom pin location. In anon-limiting example, the golfer would move the device cursor to thelocation at which the golfer wants to set the pin location and press oneof the buttons on the device to “set” the location. As the user movesthe cursor, the number displayed on the screen to the front, middle,back, and/or side(s) can also move accordingly. Once the location of thepin is set for that hole, the device toggles forward to the next holegreen, where the process is repeated until the pin location is set foreach green for which a selection is desired. After the golfer hasselected each pin location, the device will prompt the golfer to declareif he is finished setting pin locations, as shown in FIG. 22.

Once the pin setting process is finished, whether pin locations havebeen provided through the central information processing site anddatabase or custom locations made by the golfer, the location awaredevice asks the golfer which hole he wants to start on, as shown in FIG.23. Once the starting hole selection is made, the device displays thathole with the set pin locations. For instance, if the golfer starts onhole 1, as selected in FIG. 23, and stands on the hole 1 tee, the devicemight then display the entire hole representation, as shown in FIG. 24.The pin location depicted on the hole representation would be theselected pin location, and distances would be measured from the locationaware device to the pin location. If desired, the golfer can toggle to agreen only view, such as shown in FIG. 25, in which case the pinlocation is depicted by the circle icon on the green and distances canbe given from the golfer, for example holding the location aware device,to the front of the green, the selected pin location and the back of thegreen. In an example when zone or grid mode is selected, the pinlocation would be depicted as being within the zone or grid selected,generally at the center of the zone or grid. Play then proceeds in likemanner from hole to hole.

As shown in FIG. 26, once the golfer is ready to play, a Play Now buttonis displayed allowing the user to select and then proceed with use ofthe location aware device during the round of golf. Further, as shown inFIG. 27, the user has an option to view the scoring for the round ofgolf as well as the option for the Pin Location setting to be on or off.

One or more embodiments discussed above describe a system and method inwhich the golf course superintendent or other worker enters the pinlocation information. In one or more further examples, the pin locationinformation can be entered by others, including the golfer, using thesame or similar methods. In a non-limiting example, the golfer couldeither be given access to the same or similar computer program as acourse superintendent or the information could be entered directly intohis location aware device, using the course map made available to thegolfer through download over the internet, using a wireless connectionor other communication portal. The program could be modified toaccommodate the location aware device capabilities, but the underlyingprinciples would be the same as is the case for superintendent enteredinformation.

FIG. 11 is an example of a computer screen display in which theinformation for the zone mode, for example, is used and is provided bythe golfer in which the golfer either supplies a zone pin sheet to thecourse map supplier to enter the data in the central informationprocessing site and database or the golfer enters the informationhimself or herself through an internet connected computer.

FIGS. 11-14 depict an example where the member enters the data for BayPointe Resort and Golf Course. In FIG. 11 of the present example, theuser could click on the “I want to enter the zones myself” link. Afterclicking the link, the member is shown the screen depicted in FIG. 12.At this time, the member can select the course to be played and numberof zones, and then clicks “continue.” In this example, 3 zones areselected but as discussed above, it should be appreciated that anynumber of zones can be selected. The golfer is then directed to thescreen depicted in FIG. 13, and in the manner described above withrespect to other embodiments, drags and drops the zone numbers 1-3 tothe appropriate location on the green screen display. FIG. 14 depicts ahypothetical zone location for hole 1 at Bay Point, after the numbersare dragged and dropped into place. Once all zones are thus selected,this information is uploaded for use and in the manner as describedpreviously with respect to other embodiments of the invention.

In the embodiment discussed with respect to FIGS. 11-14, the memberemploys the zone mode on a computer program resident on a computer withan internet, wireless or other access. It should be appreciated thatthis method and process can performed on the location aware deviceand/or using the zone, grid, pin or other modes and any means ofcommunicating with the server containing the course map.

While exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described inconjunction with the embodiments outlined above, it is evident that manyalternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the invention,as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of storing and communicatingtopographical information to and from devices by means of an accessiblenetwork, the topographical information being the location of a pin on agreen of a hole on a golf course, the method comprising: selecting on adisplay screen, one or more greens of a plurality of greens of the golfcourse, for setting a pin position on the green; setting a position ofthe pin on one or more of the plurality of greens; storing the positionof the pin on each of the one or more greens; uploading the position ofthe pin on each of the one or more greens to a central informationprocessing site and database; and making available the locations of theone or more pins to a location aware device for determining a distancefrom the location aware device to the one or more pins.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein setting the position of the pin on the one or moregreens includes: selecting one or more greens on the display screen thatwill have their pin locations set; selecting a number of zones to beplaced on a graphical representation of the one or more selected greens.3. The method of claim 2, further comprising dragging and dropping eachnumbered zone onto the graphical representation of the one or moregreens.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the storing the position ofthe pin represented by each numbered zone on each of the one or moregreens, includes uploading the pin position information to the centralinformation processing site and database to be stored.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the information is uploaded through the internet, awireless connection, or other conventional communications protocol. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein a graphical representation on the displayscreen of the one or more greens includes a grid system having gridsquares overlaid on each of the one or more greens.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein setting the position of the pin includes selecting oneof the grid squares that approximates the actual pin location.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising setting the pin position for eachof eighteen holes for a golf course.
 9. The method of claim 7, whereinone or more of the grid squares each represents a five yard by five-yardarea of the particular green.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein thestoring the position of the pin on each of the one or more greensincludes uploading the pin position information to the centralinformation processing site and database to be stored.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the information is uploaded through the internet, awireless connection, other conventional communications protocol.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein setting the position of the pin on one ormore of the greens includes entering a distance of the pin with respectto at least one of a front of the green, a back of the green, a leftside of the green, and a right side of the green.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the storing the position of the pin on each of the oneor more greens includes uploading the pin position information to thecentral information processing site and database to be stored.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the information is uploaded through theinternet, a wireless connection, or other conventional communicationsprotocol.
 15. The method of claim 4 further comprising: geo-referencingthe pin location information represented by each numbered zone to adigitized golf course map; and providing the geo-referenced pin locationinformation to a location aware device.
 16. The method of claim 10further comprising: geo-referencing the pin location information to adigitized golf course map; and providing the geo-referenced pin locationinformation to a location aware device member.
 17. The method of claim13 further comprising: geo-referencing the pin location information to adigitized golf course map; and providing the geo-referenced pin locationinformation to a location aware device.
 18. The method of claim 3,wherein the numbered zones include one of three or four zones.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the display screen is provided with thelocation aware device.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayscreen is provided separate from the location aware device.
 21. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the position of the pins for each of the oneor more greens is set by personnel of the golf course.
 22. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the position of the pins for each of the one or moregreens is set independent of golf course personnel.
 23. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the person, independent of the golf course personnel,setting the pin location sets the pin location for the one or moregreens using the location aware device.
 24. The method of claim 1,wherein the pin location information is entered into a computer program.25. The method of claim 1, wherein the method additionally comprisesprinting a pin sheet that includes a graphical representation of the pinlocations for a plurality of greens on the golf course.
 26. A system ofstoring and communicating topographical information to and from devicesby means of an accessible network, the topographical information beingthe location of a pin on a green of a hole on a golf course, comprising:an information processing and viewing device, including a processor ormicroprocessor that interprets and executes instructions; a memorycapable of storing a digitized golf course map and computer softwareprogram instructions; an input interface that permits a user to inputinformation relative to the location of the pin; a display fordisplaying a computer software program interface, course information andgreen representations; and a communications interface for communicatinginformation from the information processing and viewing device to acentral information processing site and database; a digitized golfcourse map that includes a digitized map of at least one green on a holeof a golf course; a computer software program installed on theinformation processing and viewing device that receives an input fromthe user that corresponds to the pin location and which associates thepin location with a corresponding location on the digitized course map;a network through which the information processing and viewing devicecommunicates with the central information processing site and databaseand the central information processing site and database communicateswith a location aware device; the central information processing siteand database, including: a communications interface capable of receivingthe pin location from the information processing and viewing device; aprocessor or microprocessor capable of processing the pin locationreceived from the information processing and viewing device toincorporate such pin location into the course map that includes thegreen on which the pin is located; a memory capable of storing the pinlocation; and a communications interface capable of transmitting the pinlocation and course map to the location aware device and other clientdevices; and the location aware device, including a communicationsinterface capable of receiving from the central information processingsite and database the digitized course map and the pin location; amemory capable of storing the digitized course map, including the pinlocation; a position module with an antenna receiving location data; aprocessor or microprocessor, responsive to the position module, fromwhich the location of the location aware device on the golf course andthe distance from the location aware device to the pin location can bedetermined; and a display to display the distance from the locationaware device to the pin location.
 27. The system of claim 26, whereinthe pin location is one of a plurality of pin locations on a golfcourse.
 28. The system of claim 26, wherein the input from the userincludes the distance of the pin from at least one point along theborder of the green.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the distancefrom at least one point along the border of the green includes at leastone point chosen from the front of the green, the back of the green, theleft side of the green and the right side of the green.
 30. The systemof claim 26, wherein the input from the user is one of a plurality ofzones on the green within which the pin is located.
 31. The system ofclaim 26, wherein the input from the user is one of a plurality of gridlocations on the green within which the pin is located.
 32. The systemof claim 26, wherein the position module on the location aware device isa GPS module that receives global positioning data from satellitesorbiting the earth.
 33. The system of claim 26, wherein the locationware device displays additionally displays a representation of the greenon which the pin is located and displays the location of the pin on thegreen.
 34. The system of claim 26, wherein the information processingand viewing device additionally includes an output device, such as aconventional printer, with which a pin sheet may be printed thatincludes a graphical representation of the pin locations for a pluralityof greens on the golf course.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein thepin sheet additionally includes advertisements or other writtennotifications or communications to the golfer.